The Leaky Cauldron has been running an interview with J.K. Rowling over the past week (in three parts: one, two, and three) with questions posed by Emerson Spartz of Mugglenet and Melissa Anelli of The Leaky Cauldron. The whole interview is very worth reading — though full of spoilers, so I don’t recommend reading it if you haven’t finished the latest book yet — but one section stood out to me when I read it.
JKR: …because I think there’s a line there between the moment in “Chamber of Secrets” when Dumbledore says so famously, ‘It’s our choices that define us, not our abilities,’ straight through to Dumbledore sitting in his office, saying to Harry, “the prophecy is significant only because you and Voldemort choose to make it so.” If you both chose to walk away, you could both live! That’s the bottom line. If both of them decided, “We’re not playing,” and walked away… but, it’s not going to happen, because as far as Voldemort’s concerned, Harry’s a threat. They must meet each other.
ES: I remember thinking when I read “Order of the Phoenix,” what would happen if Harry and Voldemort just decided to —
JKR: Shake hands, and walk away? We’ll agree to disagree!
[Laughter.]
ES: What if he never heard the prophecy?
JKR: And that’s it, isn’t it. As I said, that’s what I posted on my site –
ES: I’m glad you put that up.
JKR: It’s the “Macbeth” idea. I absolutely adore “Macbeth.” It is possibly my favorite Shakespeare play. And that’s the question isn’t it? If Macbeth hadn’t met the witches, would he have killed Duncan? Would any of it have happened? Is it fated or did he make it happen? I believe he made it happen.
MA: If everyone would just shake hands and play a round of golf, everything would be fine.
[Laughter.]
Obviously, nothing necessarily mind-blowing in and of itself, but it’s a theme that I’m quite happy that Rowling has been using in the books, and expanding on in interviews. So many of the troubles people face, both on a personal and on a global scale, all just boil down to happening because one party or another want them to.
Obviously, the solution to all the world’s woes, then, is never to want to cause any sort of conflict whatsoever, so I’ll shortly be embarking on my daily routine of laudanum and thorazine to ensure I can do my own small part in making this world a calmer, less embittered place.
Erm.
Well, okay, maybe not.
“Movin’ On Up (Demrocked!’s Movinunbelievable)” by Primal Scream from the album screamixadelica (2005, 5:00).